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considering Autoshift Drill

11-05-2008, 03:35 PM

I am looking to buy my first cordless drill and considering a RIDGID, just because of the lifetime service program... Im looking at the new auto shift drill, anyone get a chance to play with one yet? opinions?

Comment

Wow, I don't understand whats going on lately but you two have done nothing but attack Ridigd lately, very odd. Anyway I have an autoshift drill and sure you can look at it as removing control from the user but honestly how often do you use your drill in low speed? You have the option of having the drill in high speed or auto. I have one and like it alot. I also have never had an issue with the Lifetime Service Agreement. Its actually worked pretty well with me. I would say go ahead get it try it for 90 days and if what Newman and Woussko are saying about Ridgid you can take it back. Dewalt and Ridigd offer a 90 day satisfaction policy, just keep your recipt. I would go for the kit the autoshift drill comes in though rather than the drill and batteries alone. Its the R969 and it comes with a mini radio, light impact and the autoshift drill (batties too ). If you do go ahead and get it to try it out follow the steps set forth with the Lifetime Service Agreement that way if you deceide to keep it you'll be covered seeing as you have to register within the 90 days. Hope that helps more than what other have put.

Comment

Wow, I don't understand whats going on lately but you two have done nothing but attack Ridigd lately, very odd. Anyway I have an autoshift drill and sure you can look at it as removing control from the user but honestly how often do you use your drill in low speed? You have the option of having the drill in high speed or auto. I have one and like it alot. I also have never had an issue with the Lifetime Service Agreement. Its actually worked pretty well with me. I would say go ahead get it try it for 90 days and if what Newman and Woussko are saying about Ridgid you can take it back. Dewalt and Ridigd offer a 90 day satisfaction policy, just keep your recipt. I would go for the kit the autoshift drill comes in though rather than the drill and batteries alone. Its the R969 and it comes with a mini radio, light impact and the autoshift drill (batties too ). If you do go ahead and get it to try it out follow the steps set forth with the Lifetime Service Agreement that way if you deceide to keep it you'll be covered seeing as you have to register within the 90 days. Hope that helps more than what other have put.

If you decide to go with a Ridgid cordless drill I strongly recommend the Ridgid 18V LI Compact drill. We have three of them and they are used and abused hard every day in filthy conditions in rain, snow, mud, concrete, plaster and rotted wood dust. It is a well balanced drill with very precise trigger control and good power and adaquate run time with 1.5Ah batts. It has become my favorite all around drill.
I would not recommend the Auto shift because:
1-The increased complexity of the tool increases the potential for mechanical failure without an appropriate reason for the feature. As you noted "how often do you drill in low speed"?
2-It is a brand new product. I would let it simmer for a while and see if any problems crop up after a few months in the field.

I would not recommend the R969 because it contains the above drill and it contains either the MaxSelect or 18V impact tool which both share the same short comings. Namely, they are very poor performers. We have two MaxSelect impacts and one 18V impact in addition to two 14.4 impacts. The 14.4s are very good tools, albiet a little heavy due to the big NiCad batts. The MaxSelect and 18V impacts are horrible tools as demonstrated in the attached review http://www.toolsofthetrade.net/indus...05143&artnum=1 We have made a major commitment to Ridgid cordless tools and they have been acceptable performers with the singular and important exception of those tools. Their performance is so poor we have considered purchasing another brand, but have resisted to this point due to the hassle of requiring another type of batteries and chargers that our crews need to carry around and keep organised in trucks and on the job.
We have communicated our dissatisfaction to Ridgid and commented on the tools serious shortcomings on this forum several times over the last year or so. Ridgid's response to our Email was "they do not discuss engineering or design issues with the public." As the above test demonstrates Ridgid has still not addressed this issue.
On a personal and professional level it is my opinion that Ridgid would have been better advised to correct the serious deficiencies of a highly popular class of tool rather than design a new tool that would seem to have very questionable application desirablity .
Just my thoughts.....Ray

Comment

A couple of things I noticed on it in a store:
It has a plastic sleeve chuck which I would have major questions about it holding up and the durability.
Trigger seemed pretty weird and it seemed like it would take a decent amount of pressure to pull the trigger. It just didn't seem like a very smooth feel.
The HD guy stated that it starts on high and shifts to low under load so I would question how good will that be when using big bits.
While looking at this we also noticed a new B&D drill and honestly the Ridgid looked a lot like it.

Comment

I've had it for a week already and really like it. I opted for the combo R969 because it's $20 more than just the drill and you get the radio (which I like/use alot) flashlight,and the impact. The impact I used yesterday and it seems to be ok. I mainly bought the combo for the drill though. I like Ridgid products and like to stick to one brand/voltage to share batteries. The warranty thing, I have heard good and bad things about. I'm sure Ridgid wants your business and will start to honor it's policy on a more consistant basis. Let's see how it goes. Good luck with your choice of tools.

Comment

I would not recommend the R969 because it contains the above drill and it contains either the MaxSelect or 18V impact tool which both share the same short comings. Namely, they are very poor performers. We have two MaxSelect impacts and one 18V impact in addition to two 14.4 impacts. The 14.4s are very good tools, albiet a little heavy due to the big NiCad batts. The MaxSelect and 18V impacts are horrible tools as demonstrated in the attached review

Ray you did some tests a few months ago on the Ridgid impact drivers and I agree with your test that the max-select version was inferior to the 18V impact driver. But now both drivers are inferior to the competition? The specs for the 18V Ridgid + Makita BTD 141 are:

Comment

I've had it for a week already and really like it. I opted for the combo R969 because it's $20 more than just the drill and you get the radio (which I like/use alot) flashlight,and the impact. The impact I used yesterday and it seems to be ok. I mainly bought the combo for the drill though. I like Ridgid products and like to stick to one brand/voltage to share batteries. The warranty thing, I have heard good and bad things about. I'm sure Ridgid wants your business and will start to honor it's policy on a more consistant basis. Let's see how it goes. Good luck with your choice of tools.

After a few projects please consider a mini review of the AutoShift drill. My 18V Ridgid power tools have been very reliable and provide all the power I expect of pro-quality tools. The new e-box intro has been challenging but it should get better. The LSA is an asset to the Ridgid tools or battery that no one else matches. The supply of batteries and chargers etc has been poor except for kits and maybe Ridgid will eventually wise up.

Comment

I'm sure Ridgid wants your business and will start to honor it's policy on a more consistant basis. Let's see how it goes.

People have been saying and hoping for the same thing for a long time now on this forum and so far Ridgid hasn't changed their policy. Doesn't do any good to offer the LSA if you can't honor correctly.

Comment

people have been saying and hoping for the same thing for a long time now on this forum and so far ridgid hasn't changed their policy. Doesn't do any good to offer the lsa if you can't honor correctly.

exactly!

Comment

Ray you did some tests a few months ago on the Ridgid impact drivers and I agree with your test that the max-select version was inferior to the 18V impact driver. But now both drivers are inferior to the competition? The specs for the 18V Ridgid + Makita BTD 141 are:

reConx.......Yep, I remember running those tests and thought the 18V was only marginally better than the MaxSelect when both were on 18V batts. I tried a search for that post and didn't find it. Do you know where it is?
I don't know which Makita impact is the model you posted specs for, however if you go to the "Tools on Line" test I believe you will see that both Makita's blow away the Ridgid impact. Not even close!
My personal experiance was on a framing job earlier this summer. I had climbed up to help fasten in the roof end soffit boxes. Forgot my impact, so a guy that was working with us handed me his little Makita impact. I almost fell off the ladder when this thing quietly and quickly ran the screws in. Still disbelieving after we got down we did a little comparison between his Makita 18V compact and my Ridgid MaxSelect running 24V batts. Running three inch screws, it was close with him a little faster but with alot less fuss. It's important to remember I was using 24V batts on the MaxSelect and know from extensive experiance that the 24s run circles around the 18s.